Can-closing machine.



Patentefl Dec. H, 191?.

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E |m JU L at (l: i. 3 7 9v 1 M 0 o 0 IL o o i F 1. C.'TALIAFERRO. CAN CLOSING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23, I911.

Patented Dem-11,1917;

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idf p I. C. TALIAFEBRO.

CAN CLOSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23. 1911.

1,249,853. Patented Dec. 11,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- J. C. TALIAFERRO.

CAN CLOSING MACHINE. APPLICATION nuzn 0m. 23, I911.

Patented D06. 11, 1917.

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r STATES r JOHN C. TALIAFEBRO, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, T0 CONTINENTAL CAN COMPANY, INC., A CQRPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CAN-CLOSING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 11, 191 7.

Application filed October 23, 1911. Serial No. 656,277.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in can closing machines, and more especially to machines of this type for securing a cover to a filled can by a rolled double seam.

An object of the invention is to provide means for placing a cover on the can body and temporarily securing the same thereto, prior to the feeding of the can body to the seaming head.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for depressing the floating contents in the filled can rior to the placing of the cover thereon an securing the same to the can body.

A further object of the invention is to provide a seaming mechanism with devices operating in unison therewith, whereby a can body is centered, a cover placed on the can body and clenched thereto prior to the feeding of the can body underneath the seaming head.

A further object of the invention is to provide a seaming head with devices operating in unison therewith, for feeding eanbodies to the seaming head, devices for depressing the floating contents in the can body, de-

vices for placing the cover on a can body and clenching the same to the can body and devices for centering the can body underneath the cover-applying and clenching means.

These andjother objects will in part be obvious, and will in part be hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment of the invention,--

Figure 1 is a front view, partly in section, showing a portion of a head-.seamin machine with my improvements applie thereto;

Fig. 2 is a plan View partly in section of the head-applying devices, and the devices A it for depressing the floating contents of the filled can; i I

Fig. 3 is a detail in side elevation of the devices'for centering the can body, placing the cover thereon and clenching the cover to the can body;

I Fig, 4.- is a front view, partly in section, of the supporting head for the cover, and the devices for clenching the cover of the can body;

Fig. 5 is a similar view, showing the clenching members in a "different position;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of a supporting plate for the covers, showing also the clenching devices; J

- Fig. 7 is-a side view of the supporting head for the covers and the clenching devices. y

The invention is herein shownhs applied to a head seaming machine, which consists of a framework 1, on which mounted a seaming head 2, carrying seaming rolls 3.

This seaming head is rotated and operated drum 8, which is formed with a spiralthread 9. This thread is so wound on the drum as to move the filled cans first to a station where the floating contents of the can body may be depressed.- During this action upon the contents, the can body remains at rest The thread 9 i formed with a non-pitched portion to allow this dwell in the filled can during the depression of the contents therein. The filled can is then conveyed to a second station where acover may be applied and attached thereto, and again the filled can will pause in its movement lurin the action of the cover-applying means. he thread on the drum will again move the filled can along underneath the seaming head, where it is held stationary during the seaming ot' the cover to the can body. This means for seaming the cover to the can body is shown and described in the patent granted to L. (I. Krummel September 21st, 1909, No. 934,921, and the feeding mechanism herein shown is fully described 'in the patent granted to L. C. Krummel and J. C. Taliaferro August 17th, 1909, No. 931,434. In view of these tlier described.

The cover-applying devices consist of a supporting plate 10, which is formed with forwardly projecting guides 11. These guides 11am attached to the under face of the plate 10, asshown in F igs. 6 and 7. The upper inner edges of the guides are recessed at 12, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 7 to form a guideway for the covers. The covers are placed by hand on the guides 11, and may be slid alongthe guide to a point centrally underneath the supporting plate 10.. This supporting plate .10 isthreaded on k to the lower end of a stem 13, which extends through a sleeve 14 mounted in a bearing 15, and at its upper end through a bearing 16. The bearings ,15and 16 are carried at the outer end of a bracket 17, which is secured at 18 tothe side wall of the framel.

At thelower end of the sleeve 14 is a head 19. A springeo surrounds the stem 13, and at one end engages the heacl. 19, \'vhile the other endof the spring is seated in a recess 21, formed in the upper face of the plate 10. The plate 1O is formed with two oppositely disposedrecesses 22, in which are pivoted clenching fingers 23. These clenching fingers aremounted on pivot. pins 24;, which are inserted in openings formed in the plate 10. plurality ofjopenings are provided, so that by shifting the pin 21, the clenching fingers may positioned for different sized cans.

A spring 25is seated in a pocket 26 in the inner wall of the plate 10, and bears against the clenching fingersand normally tends to move the same outward, and to holdtheadjustablescrew 27 carried by the clenching fingers'against the head 19.

The .clen'ching finger near its lower end is formed with agroove 28. It will readily be seen that if the head 19 is moved toward the plate 10, that the clenching fingers will be swung about their. pivotal supports, and the lower ends thereof moved toward each other. If the head. be moved in the opposite direc; tioii; or away froin theplate 10, thesprings 25 warm-eve theelenching fin'gers so as to the lower ends thereof away from each Ther Or n th cl nchi fin' e he the parts ,a re 1 i n the normal position shown in hare in line with the g iideways 12 in the guidingmembers 11, so that when the cover is pushed along the guideways l2, it willben oved into the grooves in the clenching. fingers.

An adjustable stop 29 is' attachedto the plate 10, and limits the inwardniovement of the cover, so that when thecovers resting against the stop it will be centered relative] y to the clcnchin g fingers,and supported by said clenching fingers. The; sleeve His provided with a grooved collar 30 at its up per end, which collar engages a ,forked lever 31 mounted on a rock shaft 32. The rock shaft 32 is formed with an arm 33, which is connected o a link 31. The link 31 at its ripper end carries a roll cooperating with a cam 35 mounted on the cross shaft of the head-seaming machine, so that as the cross shaftof the seaming machine rotates, the rock shaft 32 will be oscillated in unison with the movements of the seamin head.

, When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the spring 20 will force the plate 10 downward relative to the sleeve 14, until the stop pin 36 engages the upper side of the collar 30 (see Fig. 4). When the rock shaft 32 is oscillated, the sleeve 14 will move downward, carrying with it the plate 10 and the clenching fingers, together with the cover supported thereby. Ass On as the cover is placed on the can body, any further downward movement of the plate 10 is prevented, and the downward movement ofthe head 19 through the continued oscillation of the rock shaft 3:2 will move the head 19 relatively to the plate 10, and swing the clenching fingers which are supporting the cover by the outer edge of its flange, so as to=bend the outer edge of the flange of the cover underneath the flange on the can body, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, thus locking the cover to the can body.

When the rock shaft 32 is moved in the opposite direction, the head 19 will first move away from the plate 30, as the spring QO-which is under tension, will tend to hold the plate 10 on the can body during the first upward movement of the sleeve 14:. This separating of the plate 10 andthe head 1.), allows the springs 25 to throw the clenching fingers out of contact with the flange on the cover, which releases the cover from the clenching head. The continued upward movement of the sleeve 14 will bring the stop pin 36 into contact with the collar 30, and raise the plate 10 from the can body, so that the same may be moved forward and to the seaming station.

Asanieans for centering the can body underneath the cover plate and clenchin devices, centering jaws 37 and 38 are provided, which engage the can body adjacent its upper end and properly center the same relative to these parts These centering jaws are mounted on slides 39, which move back and forth in suitable guideways in brackets 40, which are attached to the supporting bracket 17. The centering jaw 37 is connccted by a link 41 to an arm 42, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. :1. a a rock shaft 13, which is formed with a second arm ll; connected by a link 45 to an arm =10 on he main rock haft 3:2.

The mute-ting jaw "'rt-z ncctcd by a link i? to an arm 4? o a rock shaft 49.

The arm 42 is carried by On the outer end of the rock shaft 49 is a second arm 50, which is connected by a long link 51 to an arm on the rock shaft 43, so that as the rock shaft 43 oscillates, the shaft 49 will be oscillated and move the centering jaw 38 in unison with the jaw 37. The connections with the jaws 37 and 38 are located between the rock shafts 43 and 4.9, and, therefore, these jaws will move in unison in opposite directions.

The can body is carried by the drum feed underneath the cover-applying devices, and as the rock shaft 32 is oscillated to bring the clenching fingers and supporting head downward to place the can cover on the can body, the centering jaws will be moved inwardly and engage the can body and properly center the same underneath the cover, so that the cover may be properly seated in the can body and clenched thereto.

It is,often desirable to force the floating contents in the filled can downward into the can body, so as to place the filled can in condition for receiving the cover. In order that this may be accomplished in advance of the applying of the cover to the can body, the plunger 53 has been provided, which carries at its lower end a head 54, which is properly shaped to enter the filled can and crowd the floating contents thereof downward into the can body. This plunger 53 is mounted to reciprocate in a bracket 55. A link 56 is attached to the upper end of the plunger 53, and .at its upper end is secured between the forked ends of an arm 57, which is fastened on the outer end of the rock shaft 32, so that as the rock shaft 32 oscillates to move the centering jaws and the head-applying devices'in unison with the movements of the seaming head, the plunger 53 is moved downward, so as to depress the contents of the can body into the filled canl.

In the operation of the device, the filled cans are placed one after another on the drum feed, and are carried along by the continuous movement of the drum 8. Filled cans will be first brought underneath the.

plunger 53, where the same will pause while the plunger moves downward to crowd the contents of the can body into the filled can. Thedrum feed will then carry the filled can underneath the cover-applying devices. A cover is placed by the operator underneath the clenching head. In this connection it is noted that while herein I have shown the covers applied by hand, it is obvious that automatic devices may be provided for feeding the covers from a stack one by one underneath the clenching head. i

The clenching head moves downward, carrying the cover therewith, andthe centering jaws willmove inward, so as to center the can body underneath the clenching head. The cover is placed on the can body, and the flange of the cover will be turned underneath the flange of the can body by the clenching fingers, at points diametrically opposite each other, so as to temporarily hold the cover seated in the can body. The drum feed will th'enconvey the can body with the head attached thereto after the clenching head has been withdrawn, to the seaming station, where again the can will pause while the seaming rolls finish the securing of the cover to the can body.

It is" obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of parts may be made, without departin from the spirit of the invention, as set fort in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A can closing machine including in combination, a seaming head, cover-applying and clenching devices, a support for the filled cans, means for moving said seaming head toward and from said support, means for moving said cover-applying and clenching devices toward and from said support in unison with the means for operating the seaming head, and means for feeding the filled cans in succession to the cover-apply- }lngdand clenching devices and the seaming 2. A can closing machine including in combination, a seaming head, a cover-supporting device, clenching fingers carried by said cover-supporting device, said clenching fingers being spaced from each other so as to clench the cover to the can body at spaced ,intervals, a sup )ort for the filled cans, means for moving sai cover-supporting devicetoward and from the support for placing a cover on a filled can, means for operating said clenching fingers for clenching the cover to the can body, and means for feeding the cans in succession underneath the cover-supporting device and the seaming head.

3. A can closing machine including in combination, a seaming head, cover-applying and clenching devices, a plunger for depressing the floating contents of the can, means for operating the cover-applying and clenching devices and the plunger in unison with the seaming head, and a feeding device for feedinga filled can to the plunger, the cover-applying devices and the seaming head in succession.

4. A can closing machine including in combination, a plunger for depressing the floating contents of the can, cover-applying and clenching devices, means for operating said plunger and said coverapplying and clenching devices in unison, and means for feeding a filled can to the plunger and to the cover-applying and clenc ing devices in succession.

Add

can body While at another dwell, a seaming head, and means for operating said seaming head to secure the cover to the can body while at a dwell.

6. A cover applying and securing means including in combination, means for supporting the can body, means for rounding up the can body, means for supporting a cover over the can body, means for placlng the cover carried by the support on the can body and turning the edge of the cover underneath the flange on the can body for clenching the cover to the can body.

7. A can closing machine including in combination, a seaming head, a cover-applying station having means for applying and clenching the covers to can bodies prior to presenting same to the seaming head, means for feeding the can bodies to the coverapplying and clenching means and to the seaming head, said cover-applying and clenching means including means for supporting the cover, and means for placing the cover on the can body and clenching the cover at spaced intervals to the can body while at the cover-applying station.

8. A' cover applying and securing means including in combination, means for supporting the cover. means for feeding a can bod underneath said support, a centering devlce for centering the can body underneath the cover, means for placing the cover carried by the support on the can body, and means for clenching the cover to the can body.

9. Cover-applyin and clenching devices including in com ination, a supporting plate, guides carried by said supporting plate for guiding the cover, clenching fingers carried by said supporting plate, a stem on which said supporting plate is mounted, a head mounted on said stem, means for moving said stem and said head and means for giving the head a relative movement on said stem, for operating said clenching fingers.

10. Cover-applying and clenching devices including in combination, a supporting plate, guides carried by the supporting plate for guiding a cover, a stem on which said supporting plate is mounted, a sleeve mounted on said stem, a head carried by said sleeve, a spring interposed between said head and said plate, clenching fingers pivoted to said supporting plate, springs for normally forcing said clenching fingers outwardly, adjusting screws carried by said fingers and engagingsaid head, whereby when said head is moved relative to the sup porting plate, the clenching fingers will be swung about their pivotal support.

11. Cover-applying and clenching devices including in combination, a supporting plate having oppositely disposed recesses, clenching fingers pivotally supported by said plate in said recesses, the lower ends of said clenching fingers being formed with a groove to receive and support a can cover, guides carried by the supporting plate in line with the grooves in the clenching fingers, and a stop for limiting the movement of the cover and positioning the same centrally of said supporting plate.-

12. Cover-applying and clenching devices including in combination, a feeding device, centering jaws for engaging and centering a can body, a supporting plate for a can cover, clenching fingers carried by said supporting plate, and means for moving said Supporting plate up and down and for moving said centering jaws to center the can body underneath the cover on the supporting plate.

13. Cover-applying and clenching devices including in combination, a feeding device, a supporting plate, clenching fingers carried by the supporting plate, means for moving said supporting plate up and down to apply the cover to the can body and clench the same thereto, oppositely disposed centering jaws, and means for movingsaid centering jaws to center the can body underneath the cover prior to the placing of the cover on the can body.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. TALIAFERRO.

Witnesses:

DOUGLAS THOMAS, A. P. WATERS. 

